The Race For College Basketball's Coach Of The Year Is A Close One

The annual Coach of the Year debate is always an interesting one
in college basketball, if only because the criteria is
perpetually unestablished and at issue.

Who deserves more credit: the coach of the nation's best team
with the nation's best players, or the coach of the squad that
nobody expected to fare this well? If the two are the same then
there isn't an issue, but this rarely seems to be the case.

The case against the coach with the best team is relatively
straightforward: he doesn't have to do as much actual "coaching"
as anyone else. Also, if the award is automatically given to the
team ranked No. 1 at the end of the season, then why even have a
panel of voters?

On the other side, there's the issue of remembering that the
award is for the "Coach of the Year" and not the "Overachieving
Team of the Year." The emphasis on the latter is the reason why
Billy Gillispie currently has an SEC Coach of
the Year trophy stuffed in a box somewhere in his cluttered
garage (I'm guessing) while John
Calipari has still yet to receive the honor.

The easiest to thing to do is to go with each philosophy's most
extreme choice, and either vote for the coach of the No. 1 team
in the country or the coach of the highest-ranked team that began
the season outside the Top 25. A more dedicated voter, however,
will consider a multitude of factors like injuries, off-the-court
issues, game management and utilization of talent.

I spoke with The Nation's Dan Wolken about this
question Tuesday night, and he said that ultimately it comes down
to an issue of who you "feel" has done the best job.

With less than a month to go before Selection Sunday, here are
the guys I "feel" have been the best in college basketball this
season:

1. Frank Haith, Missouri

Had Haith's hiring not been almost universally lambasted by the
national media, I don't think there's any question that he would
be the runaway favorite right now. Nobody likes being wrong.

Haith inherited a team that appeared to be a borderline Top 25
squad, and that was before its lone established post presence -
senior forward Laurence Bowers - was lost for the season with an
ACL tear in October. As it stands, the Tigers are 23-2 (10-2) and
would be one of the four No. 1 seeds if the NCAA
Tournament started today.

2. Jim Boeheim, Syracuse

This isn't your standard "best team, best players" scenario,
because while just about everyone thought the Orange
would be good this season, I'm not sure anyone believed they
would only have one loss come mid-February. Even in a down year,
a 17-1 record in the Big East is an absurd accomplishment, and
that's what Syracuse is four winnable games away from doing.
Boeheim is really doing it without next-level talent; Kris
Joseph, Fab Melo and
Dion Waiters all have NBA
potential, but I have yet to see a single mock draft projecting
any of them to be taken in the first round this spring.

Then there are the off-the-court issues. The Penn State scandal
was arguably the biggest news story in all of 2011, so when a
similar incident surfaced with Syracuse assistant Bernie Fine in
November, more than a few folks wondered how the Orange could
possibly put the distractions to the side and live up to their
preseason expectations. The fact that they've surpassed them is
astounding, and Boeheim has to receive his fair share of the
credit for that.

3. John Calipari, Kentucky

The easiest thing to do with Calipari is to say, "look at all the
pros he has on his team, all he has to do is pick five guys to
put on the floor and then sit back and watch the show." And
that's exactly what voters have done since he's been at Kentucky.
When you look at the way that teams with similar talent like
Baylor and Connecticut have folded their tents at times this
season, it becomes apparent that this attitude isn't a completely
fair one.

Keeping future millionaires focused and motivated on performing
to the best of their abilities isn't always an enviable job, but
there hasn't been one game this season where Kentucky has quit or
appeared disinterested. You, me and Barry Pepper could have led
the Wildcats to 20 wins by now, but not everyone could have them
at 25-1, and even fewer could have made it happen in such
impressive fashion.

4. Steve Fisher, San Diego State

Fisher lost four starters - including lottery pick Kawhi Leonard
- from last season's Sweet 16
team, and yet here the Aztecs are ranked 15th, in command of the
Mountain Weest race, and owners of a sparkling 20-4 record. Chase
Tapley and Jamaal Franklin have emerged as elite scorers, but
Fisher has led this team to 20 wins with essentially no
frontcourt. For most of the season, the 6-foot-4 Franklin has
been forced to play power forward.

5. Tom Izzo, Michigan State

Everyone knows the Spartans are a top ten team capable of getting
to the Final Four once again, but almost no one can name their
entire starting five. This is why Izzo is Izzo, and why he
deserves serious consideration here for the umpteenth time in his
career.